I'm Not Okay (I Promise)
by Elizabeth Egan Gillies
Summary: Jade West has a dark past. Her phobias seem to be taking over her mind. The only person she trusts is missing and her life seems to be getting worse and worse. But there just may be one person who has the power to make Tori feel better... [AU. JORI JORI JORI. Kind of Bade but not really.]
1. The Not so Simple Schoolgirl

Jade checked the time-table that was pinned up inside of her locker. The first two classes she had were Gym Class and Health Class. They weren't her favourite classes, but she gathered up her gym bag and shoved her health books inside, just to save a trip back to the locker. She double checked the rooms and teachers so she wouldn't get her place mixed up and she pushed the locker door closed. The click of the lock informed her it was properly closed.

She pulled the hair-tie from her wrist and put her long black hair into a messy braid. She hated it when her hair would get into her face.

The amount of twists and turns in the hallways and corridors were Jade's second least favourite thing about the school, the amount of people being the first. She hated having to think too much about where she was going. She didn't like the fact it was easy to turn in circles and end up where you started to begin with. Being a person with no friends whatsoever , she hated human contact and avoided speaking as often as she could.

Every time Jade turned a corner, she would instinctively look behind her and around the corner multiple times. After the routine, she turned left and continued walking, staying close to the wall, trying to keep out of everybody's way. She skilfully dodged the swift moving limbs and bodies that passed and managed to get to the bathroom without being touched.

She waited a moment before looking down at her watch.

"Fuck…" she muttered quietly.

She knew if she wasn't at the gym within the next few minutes she would have missed her bus to the swimming pool. But it certainly didn't seem as though the crowd of people moving about was ready to subside. She pushed the bathroom door open and slid inside. It was completely empty which was surprising for such a busy time of morning. She looked at her own face in the mirror.

She twisted the ring in her nostril and heavily exhaled. Her piercing blue eyes glared back at her, following her wherever she moved. She found it terribly uncomfortable and turned away from her reflection.

"Stop getting lost," she whispered to herself, "You're lost. Your mind is lost."

She held back the tears as she took a handful of her shirts material in her hand. The scars on her arms were barely visible from the self-inflicted cuts from a few years ago. But it still left a mark on her, no matter how small.

The school bell sounded once more. A sign that classes were meant to have started.

"Shit!" Jade mumbled angrily, swinging her gym bag over her shoulder. She turned and ran for the bathroom door but before she could realize what was happening, she was on the ground.

_**AN: **__This story is in fact on , but it was originally written for an entirely different fandom. I decided to re-write it as Victorious because I no longer have the motivation to write for the other fandom and I really want to keep writing this because I kinda love it. v.v_

_Please be sure to leave feedback! I'd love to hear your opinion!_

_xoxo_


	2. The Unfortunate Flashback

[_Flashback_]

The cold night air made the 11 year old Jade shiver. The moon and the stars hung brightly in the sky, creating a little light for her to see in. Trees and shrubs surrounded the path she walked along, making the road seem endless. She seemed to be lost in a large forest and she was much disorientated.

"Mom…? Dad?" she called, tears running down her rosy red cheeks, "Hello? Is anybody out there?"

A slight breeze rustle the leaves of all the plants, making it seem as though something were following her to her terrible fate. She tried to keep as quiet as possible, keeping an ear out for any signs of life. Little sounds would make her jump, but in the end she considered whether something was actually there, or if it was just her mind playing tricks on her.

The muddy ground squished beneath her bare feet as she took each step. She cringed at the slimy feeling of the mud creeping in between each of her toes. Jade had lost track of the hours she had been walking. But she could feel the cuts on the bottom of her feet from the mystery items buried inside of the thick mud. There was no turning back from wherever she had come from. She was positive that the way she was walking was the way back to the camp.

"Hello?" she repeated, turning herself around to face the opposite direction, "Is anybody there?"

Once again there was no reply. But as she turned back to continue walking she could see a light in the distance that wasn't there beforehand. Her heart jumped and a smile spread across her face. She shouted for her parents as she headed in the direction of the sparkle. She slipped and fell down multiple times in the mud, but she didn't care much about the pain, she just wanted to be safe with her parents again.

As she ran faster and faster, and as the light seemed to get bigger, she was only disappointed when she reached her destination. A single lamp hung from a large hedge covered in roses and thorns. She took a moment to catch her breath and to comprehend everything her body was feeling. The physical pain and the loneliness.

"Hello?" she called desperately, "Mom? Dad? Where are you!"

The ground beneath her was no longer muddy, but made of solid concrete. Her muddy footsteps led up to the entrance of what appeared to be a maze. She peered inside to see nothing but more darkness. She cautiously took a step into the maze.

"This wasn't here before," Jade said to herself as she took a few more steps.

After the first few turns of the maze, she had gotten herself completely lost. She could hear strange animal noises coming from all different areas, some closer than others. She tried to find the physical and mental strength to carry on, but it wasn't long before she dropped to the ground, scraping the skin off her knees.

"I keep turning in circles," she sobbed to herself, "This is anything but fair. How am I supposed to get out of here? I don't want to be lost anymore."

sat in complete silence for a long moment. But it wasn't more than 15 minutes before she could hear strange footsteps approaching. It was then she knew she wasn't alone in this frightening maze. Her heart beat frantically and she didn't know whether to be excited or scared.

"Mom! Dad! I'm here! I'm over here mom!" she shouted happily, weakly heaving herself back onto her feet, "I'm here!"

She waited for a moment, breathing heavily but trying to hear how far away the footsteps were. There wasn't a reply from a single person, and the footsteps seemed to stop. The smile quickly faded from her face as she felt the warm air on the back of her neck. Her eyes opened wide and before she could let out a scream she was hit over the head.

She felt her head smash against the concrete ground. Blood trickled down her face as she rolled onto her back, trying to help herself up. Her vision was blurry and her head was spinning so badly it was hard to keep her balance. The figure of a man in the darkness was all her mind could really make out.

Strong, dangerous hands clawed at the dress she was wearing, clawed at her legs, at her stomach. She managed to scream as everything was torn from the lower half of her body. The figure punched her in the stomach, winding her terribly. She was trying to inhale but nothing seemed to want to enter her lungs. She panicked as she felt herself slipping away.

The man hit Jade in the head again, knocking her from her elbows to the ground. She didn't want to have to think about what was going on. She couldn't comprehend what the man was doing to her. It hurt. It was hurting her badly. She just wanted what was happening to stop. She didn't want him to do that to her.

"STOP! STOP IT PLEASE!" She screamed, tears stinging her eyes, "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Jade saw the figures hand move from her thigh to her stomach in a quick flash, punching her again and again and again. She screamed as the dark liquid soaked into her white dress. Three deep cuts straight into her stomach. She flailed, kicked and fought, trying to get away from her attacker.

But it was too late. She was already slipping away into unconsciousness…

_**A/N: **__Hurr. I actually made myself cry whilst writing this. I guess it's just a very sensitive subject to be writing about. Hence the reason, I'm so attached to this story. _

_Please leave some feedback! I'd love to know what you think!_

_xoxo_


	3. Reality Check

"Are you okay, miss? Oh my gosh, I-I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to," said the girl standing in front of Jade.

She had her dark brown hair pulled back into a messy ponytail and thick-rimmed glasses. She had beautiful tan skin and the most amazing cheekbones. She had a gym bag hanging over her shoulder, one very similar to Jade's. Jade could see some sketch pads hanging out of the unzipped bag, labelled with the name 'Tori'. The young girl looked as though she were about to cry as she got down on her knees and leaned in to take Jade's hand in her own.

"No! No, don't touch me!" Jade screamed, lifting herself up and sliding herself back against the wall, "Just don't touch me. I can help myself."

"I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean it. I feel so terrible," she said shyly, "Please don't be mad at me. It was an accident, I swear. Look, your heads bleeding, maybe I can hel-"

"I'm okay! Just relax. I-I'm okay," Jade snapped. She looked down at herself and slowly slid her hand up her shirt, resting her hand on her stomach. She cringed as she felt the deep scars, "I've had head injuries before. This is nothing."

Tori pulled herself back to her feet and stood awkwardly above Jade. Her face showed an emotion of concern, but Jade didn't quite know the way to take it. It was obvious that neither of them were very good when it came to social situations. Jade slowly got to her feet and looked at her head in the mirror. She had split it open just above her eyebrow.

"What's your name?" Tori asked quietly.

"My name? My name is Jade. Jade West," Jade said, wiping the blood away from her brow.

"My name is-"

"Tori," Jade finished her sentence, "Your note-book is falling out of your gym bag. You better be careful you don't lose it."

"Oh… thank you…" she blushed, "Well we're in the same gym class from now on. I just recently changed schools so you wouldn't have seen me around here before."

Jade paused for a moment to think. She was actually having a conversation with someone. It was hard for her to comprehend she was talking to someone from the school for the first time. The only people she'd ever talked to were teachers and school staff. Never a student. Not even during a group project. She generally waited until everybody had a group and then did the work by herself.

"I've been here for a year," Jade replied, "And you're obviously not attending your first gym class. If you hadn't known, we're doing swimming for the next few weeks, and I believe our bus has already left."

"Oh well… I wasn't going to participate anyway. I'm not the sporty kind of person. I'm not very good at anything to do with fitness. Everybody laughs at me," Tori sighed.

"Yeah everyone here will laugh at you. They laugh at me. I hate gym because they try make you do a lot of teamwork and co-operation related activities. I'm not up for those. You're the first person in the whole school who I've actually talked to before. I haven't had a conversation with a single person here that wasn't a part of the school staff," she said, turning to face the girl.

"What do I do now that we've missed the bus?" Tori asked nervously.

"You just deal with it. Sit in the bathroom all period. Or you could go outside and hide behind all those big trees at the back of the football field. That's what I do sometimes. I skip gym a lot, so don't expect to see me there very often," Jade admitted.

She didn't like to have any physical contact with people. It petrified her and brought back memories from her past. She hadn't been okay with anyone touching her since she was 11 years old, not even her own family. She avoided participating in sports in case she was touched by any of her fellow teammates with whichever sport they might have been playing.

"Okay. Well maybe you should see the school nurse about your head. It looks like it hurts," Tori said, pointing at the injury on Jade's forehead.

"Yeah you're right. Come with me, right? I'll show you where the nurses office is, Tori," Jade said, motioning towards the door. But whatever you do. Just don't touch me. It's kind of a… a phobia. I don't like being touched."

"That's perfectly fine. I won't touch you," she smiled.

Jade and Tori then left the girls bathroom and headed down the now empty hallway.

_**A/N: **__Well I guess it's good to know she can still TALK to people, eh? _

_Please leave some feedback, I'd love to know what you think of the story!_

_xoxo_


	4. The Nurses Office

Once again Jade had the troubles of navigating herself throughout the large school. She had to pay attention to the way she was moving her feet, or else she found she would drag them against the linoleum and end up tripping over.

"I just need to go to my locker. Put my things in. You know," Jade said awkwardly.

"Sure," Tori nodded, following Jade's every step.

Everything seemed to be so empty now that the classes had started. Jade preferred it when there was barely any people around. She didn't have to worry about bumping into anybody or accidentally touching someone as she was walking. When the corridors were empty she could walk at a safe distance from any passers-by.

When they reached Jade's locker, Tori stood about a meter away in complete silence. She was a very shy girl and she didn't want to say the wrong kind of things to Jade. She hadn't had many friends throughout her childhood and didn't quite know how to make any. Her social skills were very poor but her heart was in the right place.

Jade twisted the lock to the numbers of her combination and the locker clicked to say it had been opened correctly. She swung the door open and threw her bag inside. She didn't have many things inside her locker. She didn't bring anything to school but her phone and her iPod. They were really the only things she would need to get her through the day. Everything else she kept on the lower shelf of the locker, and that just included school books and a pencil case. The only thing she needed to bring to school was her gym bag and half the time she didn't bother with that.

"Who is that?" Tori asked, pointing at a photograph of Jade and a rather handsome boy that was pinned up below the timetable in Jade's locker.

"That was my best friend Beck," Jade said, her voice getting shaky. She tried to hold back the tears in her eyes but she wasn't strong enough, "He's the best person in the world. And I love him."

"Did something happen to him?" Tori asked.

"He's been missing for 3 months now," Jade said, letting out a sob, "I'm so sorry, I don't normally cry like this. I feel like such an idiot."

"Don't feel like an idiot. I'd be crying too. I'm sure he'll be okay, though. He's probably lost somewhere. Waiting for them to come and rescue him. I'm sure he'll be home in no time," Tori said, trying to reassure her, "I know exactly how it feels."

"I doubt you do," Jade snapped, slamming her locker door closed.

"But I do. My best friend went missing last year. They found him in the end. But… he'd… he had decided to end his own life. He didn't even tell any of us he was going to. We knew he was upset but we didn't think he'd leave us like that. I do know how it feels to lose somebody. But you've just gotta have hope I guess," Tori sighed.

"Oh…" Jade said in realization, "I'm… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so rude."

Neither of them said another word as Tori followed Jade to the other side of the school. Jade forced herself to stop crying and she wiped her tears on her jeans. Tori felt bad for asking in the first place. She didn't know how to comfort Jade, because a hug or a pat on the back was completely out of the question.

"Ahh, miss West. What may I do for you today?" the nurse asked as they entered the room.

"Um, I fell over, miss. I hit my head on something. Just thought I'd come in to make sure it was alright," Jade answered, sitting down on a chair in front of her.

"Ah that's a bit of a nasty cut you've got there," the nurse said, getting a wet towel and dabbing around the wound to clean the dried up blood, "Who is this young lady?"

"Ah. That's my friend Tori. She's in my gym class," Jade answered, cringing as the nurse put some pressure on the wound.

Tori smiled to herself at the word friend. She figured that maybe if she just kept it up Jade could like her even more. Maybe even learn to trust her. Jade hadn't had a friend other than Beck in a long time, but if anyone could be her friend, she thought it must have been Tori. Nobody at the school had treated her that kindly yet.

"Well it's alright, it's not too bad. It won't need any stitches. You'll just need to make sure you don't bump it again or you'll make it worse, okay?" the nurse said, putting the towel aside, "I'll call your mother to come and get you. You'd better get home and rest. After bumping your head like that you can get some serious headaches. If you think you could get a migraine, make sure you tell your mother to take you to the doctors, okay?"

"Sure thing, miss," Jade answered reassuringly.

_**A/N: **__I REALLY hate going to the nurses office. I guess I just prefer to deal with my own problems. xD_

_Please don't be a silent reader, I need feedback on my writing! D:_

_xoxo_


	5. The Aftermath

[_Flashback_]

"Is she awake yet?"

"I think she's coming around."

"Jade honey, if you can hear us, open your eyes."

Jade didn't have the strength to open her eyes. She just wanted to drift back into complete unconsciousness. She just wanted to sleep and to get away from whatever nightmare she had just been through.

"Hang on we'll have to give her an extra dose."

"Alright, sir."

"Yeah another shot."

"Will she wake up soon."

"Yes, incredibly."

Jade slowly opened her eyes and let them adjust to the bright lights surrounding her. She was in a hospital with nurses and doctors surrounding her. Her parents stood at the end of her bed, tears streaming down their faces. They couldn't stand the sight of their beautiful baby girl in such a condition.

"Mom…" Jade choked, "Dad… I'm here."

Jade literally choked on her tears as she tried to calm her breathing. Everything that had happened to her wasn't a bad dream after all. Everything was real. And the pain was certainly letting her know that. The lot of stitches in her stomach made her cringe. She had a major headache that felt like someone was hitting her on the side of the head with a hammer. Under the blankets she could feel her inner thighs were covered in scratches and cuts. And the pain in between her legs was terrible.

Nothing could compare to the sadness her heart was feeling.

"It's okay Jade honey, just relax. It's going to take a while for you to wake up properly and then we'll get you something to relieve the pain, okay?" the doctor told her.

Jade nodded her head half-heartedly and rested her head against the pillow that was behind her.

Standing behind her parents was her childhood friend Beck Oliver. He too had tears running down his cheeks. He stood forward and shuffled to Jade's bedside. He sat in the chair beside her bed and sighed. He took her hand in his own and he kissed it softly.

"I'm sad Jade," he whispered.

"Me too, Beck," she whispered in return.

"I'm sad because you're sad. I don't want you to be sad," he said.

"Don't be sad because of me."

He rested his head against her leg and closed his eyes. It had been a very long night and both of them were very tired. Jade leaned back and closed her eyes too. And with the comfort of knowing her best friend was beside her, she fell asleep.

_**A/N: **__Another flashback. It's so cute and sad omg I SWEAR I ONLY WRITE FANFICTION TO MAKE MYSELF SOB OR SOMETHING._

_Please give me some feedback, I'm interested to know what you think!_

_xoxo_


	6. A Terrible Mother

"You can't have just fallen over and hit your head. Tell me the whole story, Jade," said Jade's mother as they both got in the car.

"You don't have to worry mom it was nothing serious," she said, trying to defend herself.

"Of course I'm going to worry, Jade I'm your mother and that's what mothers do. They worry! Now tell me," she said, her attitude changing.

"I didn't want to be within the crowd of the people so I went into the bathroom. I was going to wait a few minutes until the crowd died down so I wouldn't have to be pushed around. Then I was going to head straight for gym class. But as I was walking out I ran into a girl," Jade answered.

"She touched you?" her mother asked, a look of concern on her face.

"Yeah. She touched me. We bumped into each other. And then the thoughts of that night just took over my mind. And when I had any idea of what was happening, I was on the ground and the girl was panicking. She went to help me up but I freaked out and snapped at her. But I feel bad because she's actually a really nice girl. I talked to her for a while and she went with me to the nurses office. She's new at the school and she's in my gym class this semester."

Jade's mother didn't say anything for a while. She took a minute to comprehend everything that Jade had done.

"There's no sign of Beck," her mother stated.

Jade's heart sunk deep into her chest. She looked out the window to make sure her mother couldn't see her crying. Though of course she knew she was. Beck was the only person in the world that Jade truly trusted, and he couldn't be there for her. She wasn't blaming him, but she was certainly blaming herself. She missed having him to comfort her. Without him everything just seemed so empty. Even more-so than usual.

"I'm sorry Jade," her mother said.

"You shouldn't be sorry. Because there's nothing you can do about it. There's nothing anybody can do about it. It's not your fault. Why would you be sorry?" she asked, frustrated, "I don't know where the fuck he is but there's not a single fucking thing I can do about it. And as if I didn't feel useless before, I feel even more useless now."

"Don't you dare use that language around me, young lady," her mother snapped angrily.

"You have no idea how much pain I'm feeling, so I honestly couldn't care less how I speak to you," Jade said.

Her mother grabbed her tightly by the wrist and glared at her. Jade's heart stopped and her eyes widened. Visions of the past came flooding to her mind, and with a quick swipe, Jade scratched at her mothers face. Her mother screamed and pushed her daughter into the car door, hitting her head against the window.

"You're a useless little bitch, Jade! That's it, you're walking home!" she shouted.

Jade got out of the car and slammed the door behind her. She gave her mother the finger as she drove off before screaming with frustration. She fumbled through her bag for her mobile phone. When she found it she dialled the only number she had managed to remember off by heart.

"Hi this is Beck Oliver, sorry I can't reach the phone right now, Jade and I are probably doing something awesome. Just leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

Tears ran down Jade's face, "Come home, Beck. I'm begging you. You're the only person I can talk to and now you're gone. I don't like this feeling. I love you."

Then there was once again nothing but silence. Everything in Jade's life seemed to go wrong. It felt like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders and that she had the worst luck in the entire world. She slapped herself in the face before deciding what she would do. Her father would be at work and wouldn't be able to pick her up so early. So she walked back into the school grounds and headed for the football field.

The trees at the back of the school was the only place she could really go to be alone.

_**A/N: **__I don't write sins, I write tragedies. Making other people hurt in stories is what I do best woops._

_Please leave some feedback! I'd really appreciate it! :D_

_xoxo_


	7. Childhood Memories

"_Jade, you're my best friend, you know," Beck said happily, throwing his arms around Jade's shoulders._

Jade opened her eyes as she snapped out of her dream. She had fallen asleep in the biggest tree at the back of the school. There was a cosy little hiding place where a whole lot of the branches met. If you squeezed yourself through you would find a nice little place to hang out. It could fit at least 5 people in it. She looked at her watch to realize there was only an hour left of school to go. She was amazed at how well she slept through all of that. The sunlight filtered through the spaces in between the branches, lighting up the inside of the hiding place.

Jade sat up and leaned against a branch as she thought about her dreams. She always seemed to dream about Beck when she fell asleep in the tree. Before Beck had to move schools, the two of them would always share their lunch together in that tree.

She pulled her phone out of her school bag and called Beck's number once more. She didn't feel so sad about the voicemail this time. She just closed her eyes and smiled to herself, enjoying the sound of his voice.

"_My mom didn't pack me lunch again…" Jade sighed, looking through her school bag._

"_It's alright Jade you can have mine," Beck said, pushing his lunchbox towards the sad looking girl._

"_No I can't do that. Then you'll go hungry," she refused._

"_Yeah but I don't need it. You take it. Please," he insisted. _

Jade opened her eyes again to find herself in total darkness. She pressed the button on her phone to see the time and swore to herself loudly as the numbers "7:00" flashed on the screen. It was obviously too late to catch the bus home. The bus had left 4 hours earlier. And there weren't any other buses she knew of that could take her home.

"_Where's your mom Jade?" Beck asked._

"_I don't know. I guess she forgot about me again," Jade sighed._

"_Do you want me to walk home with you?" he offered._

"_No it's too far, Beck. Just catch your bus and go home," Jade snapped._

"_But you can't just stay here. I have to take care of you," he said sadly, sitting beside her on the curb._

Jade had been left behind so many times she remembered the way to walk home. She remembered having to walk home alone from the age of 9. As if the three and a half hour walk back to her house wasn't tiring enough, she would have to lug her school backpack around behind her. Her mother didn't care much for her even then. But it only got worse as Jade got older and her life got more depressing.

There was no point in calling her father. He wasn't going to be home until very early in the morning. And there wasn't any way she could stay in the freezing cold all night long. She picked up her bag and climbed down from her tree. It was so hard to see in the dark, but the moon was pretty bright that night, just like the night she got lost in the maze.

She dragged her feet half-heartedly along the ground as she trudged across the football field. She didn't want to put any effort into anything she did anymore. It just wasn't worth the time and energy. She could hear the crickets screech somewhere in the distance, and the rustle of the leaves in the trees around the field. Everything was rather eerie in the night-time.

_**A/N: **__Man losing the very few friends I have would suck so bad. I'm trying a lot to focus on Jade's emotions and not just what's physically happening, you know? Hopefully that works out over the next few chapters._

_Thanks for the reviews and the likes, I really appreciate it!_

_Don't be afraid to leave some feedback, it really means a lot to me! :D_

_xoxo_


	8. Bleeding Out Negativity

The walk home seemed to last forever, but all she could do was drag her feet one step at a time, and ignore her surroundings so she didn't start to have a panic attack.

There were no lights on inside or outside her house, which meant that her mother had gone out and left her alone again. She searched around in her bag for the spare key she always had with her. She unlocked the door and trudged inside. She flinched as she switched on the light. She had been in complete darkness for so long that it blinded her.

She slowly made her way up the stairs to her bedroom, trying not to trip down the stairs as her legs painfully shook. She didn't understand why her mother had to be so mean and cold-hearted towards her only daughter. Especially after everything she had been through.

_It's not my fault all this happened. Not that she was nice to me beforehand._

She threw her bag in the corner of her room and slumped onto her bed. She couldn't help but feel anger towards her mother. Something about her mother made Jade want to punch a wall. Her mother was stupid and ignorant and couldn't care less about her troubled daughter. She hated the way her mother favoured her social life more than her daughters emotional health.

It wasn't fair on Jade to be treated the way that she was constantly being treated.

She let out a long sigh and clenched her fists. There was nothing she wanted more than to attack a wall. Smash a wall down with her fists and her feet, just watch it crumble to the ground as she unleashed her negative feelings. But it wasn't as easy as that, and all she was able to do was curl up into a ball and bottle it all up.

"This isn't FAIR!" She screamed, kicking the end of her bed. She felt the whole thing shake beneath her.

Her skin felt like it was crawling. Her heart was racing fast. She tripped over her own feet as she climbed down off her bed. She felt like screaming more abuse at the nothingness, but she knew if she kept it up, the neighbours would call in to see if everything was okay. So she silently dragged her feet down the stairs and she headed for the kitchen.

Jade cut her hands up as she rummaged through the draw full of sharp knives. She took a small yet dangerous knife into her hands. She held it up to her face and glared at her partial reflection. Her heart seemed to sink deeper into her chest and she quickly brought the knife down against her arm. She cringed as it pierced her skin and entered her flesh.

"Shit," she said, pulling the knife away and letting the blood seep through the thin line. She drew another line against her pale arm. Jade just felt so much anger that she had no other way of getting it out. She simply had to bleed it out. She thought she was a fool, and maybe she was right, but something inside of her drove her to cut lines up and down her arms until she felt sick from the amount of blood she was seeing.

After the sixth line she could feel her knees buckle and she collapsed to the ground, dropping the knife beside her. She focused on the horrid stinging pain on her arm so she didn't have to focus on the other things in her life. She thought she felt better after that. She had gotten her frustration out. It may have been replaced with a physical pain and more emotional pain, but at least she didn't feel the need to kill everything that moved.

She panicked as the blood dripped onto the floor and she hurriedly tried to wipe it away with her hands, but it only made the mess worse. She clenched her fists, which made the beads of blood surface faster.

She leaned up against the bench behind her and hugged her knees, not caring about the irritation of the denim against her new wounds, or the fact she would get blood over the only pair of jeans her mother ever let her buy. She just hugged herself and sobbed. She couldn't help the noises that came from inside of her chest. She didn't care. She just had to let every single bit of it out.

_**A/N: **__I took it all out on Jade again. I'm a terrible person aren't I. I know this story seems sad but it'll get a little happier okay! _

_Please don't be a silent reader, I LOVE feedback. :3_

_xoxo_


	9. Further Abuse

"Get the hell up to your room now, before I tear that ring right out of your nose!" Jade's mother snapped as she turned the kitchen light on, "I had a feeling this was what you would have done. Another cry for attention. You don't need any more attention than you already get."

"But mom, I don't want attention. I want everyone to leave me alone," she whispered, still curled up in a ball on the tiled floor.

"Well there is a reason that nobody likes you. You're anti-social and you carry on the minute somebody touches you! You're whiny and annoying! And quite frankly I'm sick of your shit. Before you go, clean the blood off the floor, I don't want it staining the tiles," she said, putting her bags on the kitchen counter.

Jade slowly made her way to the cupboard under the kitchen sink on her hands and knees. She almost slipped in her own blood in the process but she caught herself before she fell. She pulled out an old rag and ran it under the tap for a moment. She scrubbed the floors until the water turned the blood a pink colour.

Jade's mother slapped her in the back of the head, "Jade! You useless child! You're meant to use the detergent over there! I'm sick of you getting in my way, you pathetic girl. Go to your room! You can't even clean the floor right!"

Jade held back the tears to show she was defiant, but her chest seemed to ache at the sound of her mother's words. She stood up to her mother and tried to make herself seem tall and stronger than she really was.

"Well why don't you clean it up yourself, then. Bitch," Jade snapped shakily, shoving the dirty cloth into her mothers' hands, "If I'm so useless, don't bother making me do it."

The next slap Jade received was on her right cheek, and it was so hard it made her eyes water. She could feel blood trickle down her nose where her nose-ring had torn her skin. It wasn't too bad but it was still painful. More anger was building up in her chest. She couldn't stand her mother anymore. She leaped to her feet and ran back to her bedroom where she knew she would be okay. She locked herself inside and sat in front of her mirror as she cleaned her face up.

She sighed in disappointment at the realization that her nose would now be hurting for a few more weeks, just after she had gotten over the previous tear her mother had given her. It was an easy target and a serious threat her mother gave her when Jade was doing something wrong.

Jade pulled her laptop in front of her and opened it up. She opened the Facebook tab to look at her notifications. She had a new friend request, two messages and four notifications.

Three notifications on her list were requests from her aunty for some of those stupid Facebook games that people play. The last notification was from someone who supposedly went to her school, who was telling her that she was ugly and that her profile should have been some stick thin, blonde, bimbo of a celebrity with fake tits. He didn't say that directly, but that's how Jade's mind saw it.

She was surprised to have a friend request from an actual person, not just some weird guy from Asia or Europe that wanted her to send him nude pics or to have a one on one sexual Skype call. It was the girl she had talked to that day, Tori. She accepted the request and moved onto the messages. One of the messages was from her grandfather that she hadn't seen in years, who was asking for her to like his page about gardening. But the other was from Tori.

_Tori: Hey Jade. I just thought I would look for you on Facebook so I would be able to keep in contact with you. Seeing as though we didn't exchange numbers or anything and I probably won't see you until the next sports class. So yeah… hi. X3 _

Jade's luck seemed to have changed as she could see the green dot beside Tori's name, showing that she was online.

_**A/N: **__The reason I'm updating so much this weekend is because one, I don't wanna leave you guys hanging, two, I'm impatient, and three, I don't have internet at home so there are gonna be times where I don't update for a while, you know? Anyway. I barely have a life outside of fanfiction. That's what being lonely and friendless does to you woops._

_Don't be a silent reader, feedback is appreciated!_

_xoxo_


	10. Instant Messaging

Jade hurriedly replied to her new friend.

_Jade: I'm so fucking glad you found me, Tori._

_Tori: Oh, haha, why is that?_

_Jade: You are the only person I can talk to. I know I only met you today. But you're the only person I have._

_Tori: Oh I don't mind, it's okay. I'll be here if you ever need someone to talk to. I'm almost always on._

_Jade: Thank you. Because right now I really do need someone to talk to._

_Tori: Well I'm here, hon. So get talking. 3 _

Jade poured her heart out into a long reply, trying to get her point across to her new friend.

_Jade: Everything you read now, may seem to shock you a bit. I've never told any of this to anyone before. But for you to understand the whole story I guess you need to know. And if there's anyone I can trust right now, it's definitely you._

_Ever since I was a small child, my mother has neglected me. Not severely, but bad enough to cause a lot of emotional damage. She would occasionally beat me when I would do something wrong. And because of that I have a lot of scars. But I guess the effect it has had on my emotions is worse than what it did on the outside._

_When I was young, I went on a camping trip with my family. I can't remember the name of the place, but it was in the middle of nowhere and there was literally nobody around for miles and miles. So we set up camp in this big dark forest at this tiny little camp site. There were bathrooms somewhere nearby, and my mother left me to go off on my own._

_I managed to get lost and I ended up at a large maze. Inside that maze… I found that I was being followed by a frightening man… and… well… he did terrible things to me. I can't even think about it, I'm tearing up as it is._

_The police found me unconscious in the maze the next day and I was put in hospital for a few days before I was woken up. I had 53 stitches in my stomach from stab wounds, and my head had 8 stitches from being knocked on the ground._

_The only person who seemed to care about that incident was my father. My mother seemed rather apathetic about the whole situation. She has just gotten worse and worse over time though. She just seems to care less and less. She makes me feel bad about being afraid of human contact. She tells me I'm useless and she is just constantly pushing me down._

_I just… I don't know how to bottle up all of this negative energy that it's causing me. I'm having trouble sleeping at night because of it, and concentrating at school is out of the question. Everything is just haunting me. _

Jade waited for about 10 minutes whilst her friend read her long message. She hoped that Tori didn't take it the wrong way, and hoped she would be supportive, as she was the first person other than her parents and such, to know about the incident. Whilst waiting for a response, she pulled off her shirt and threw it in the corner of her room. She pulled off her pants and put them in the same place. She sat at the laptop in her underwear, looking at the cuts on her hands and her arm.

_Tori: I honestly don't know what to say. I can't imagine what it would be like to have gone through what you have gone through. But I am always here no matter what. And you'll be safe with me. You don't need to be afraid of me. I promise. I have no friends, and you're the only person at this school who has been nice to me. And that means a lot to me._

_jade: I don't understand what I did. Or why my mother hates me so much. My dad is constantly at work. He's rarely ever home. And when he is home he's sleeping. He doesn't have time for me anymore. But my fear of human contact has become so severe that I can't stand my own parents touching me. The only person recently who was able to touch me, was Beck. And he's gone now. I've known him for so long. He's been taking care of me since pre-school._

_Tori: That's so cute, Jade. I'm so sorry. My parents have been neglecting me for many years now. They beat me physically and emotionally, just like your mom does to you. But don't be sad, okay? It's making me feel sad that you're sad. I'm here for you now._

_**A/N: **__This IS an alternate universe, so yeah no The Slap. :c It still feels weird to me, writing an AU fic, it really does. But at the same time I don't have to worry about the restrictions of the actual show and such. ^^"_

_Please don't be a silent reader, faves, follows and reviews mean so so so so much to me guys!_

_xoxo_


	11. Not So Useless Chatter

Jade noticed a little notification popping up, letting her know that Tori had commented on one of her photos. She clicked on the tab and clicked the notification. It was a photo Jade had taken when she first got her hair dyed black. It was her profile picture, and it had been for quite some time.

"Ahh Jade, you're so pretty!" Tori's comment, read.

"Thanks. But I don't really agree, haha. But, even though I don't think I'm pretty, I don't have to hide behind some fake celebrity as my profile picture. At least I've accepted it. xoxo," Jade replied.

Tori seemed to be very quick on her keyboard, as she replied almost instantly, "Don't be ridiculous! I wish I was as pretty as you, and I'm not just saying that! You're absolutely gorgeous!"

Jade just commented with another thank you and another heart and left it at that. She didn't like getting into arguments with people over how she wasn't beautiful. She thought she wasn't, but some others thought she was. She tried to leave it at that, no matter how much she disagreed.

Jade messaged her friend once more.

_Jade: Hey Tori, I don't think I'm going to school tomorrow. We both have frees in the morning but I'm not going at all. I don't feel like it. But I was wondering if you wanted to come over to my house or something. So we can talk and shit. I just don't feel like being all alone recently. What do you say? My mom is going to be out with her bitch friends and dad will be working again, so we'll be alone. We can listen to some tunes as loud as we want and eat food. Something friends do. Yeah?_

_Tori: Yeah sure. I don't feel like going to school either, so spending some time with you should be alright. My mom won't know, so it should be okay._

_Jade: Awesome. Well I'll message you my info in the morning. I'm going to go to bed now. I've cried myself tired. Night. XOXO. 3_

_Tori: goodnight. 3_

Jade shut her laptop closed and put it to the side. Her arm hurt every time she moved it, but it was too late to do anything about that. She unclipped her bra and slid it off carefully, making sure she didn't hurt herself. She threw it in the corner with the rest of her dirty clothes. She looked at herself in the mirror.

She had mixed feelings about herself. She knew she hated her face, her eyes being the only thing she even slightly liked about it. She was a little bit chubby. Not overweight, or fat, she just had curves, and that she didn't hate. Her breasts were rather large and nicely shaped but she hated how they always seemed to get in the way of things. The thing she hated most were the large scars left on her stomach. The reason she avoided changing in front of anyone, or wearing a bikini of any sorts.

Her knees were covered in scars from falling over, or being pushed over by her mother. She evaluated her height once more. She didn't seem to have gotten any taller over the last few months. Yet girls her age didn't usually grow much more anyway. She reached about 5'7" and yet she was the shortest in the majority of her classes. That was until she met Tori. Tori was only a few inches shorter, but it still counted for something.

Jade didn't even bother trying to think positive as she knew it wouldn't work and that it would only end in more disappointment. _There's no point_, she thought to herself, _in the end it's only going to end up a disaster. Don't think about it. It'll end the way it ends. _

She crawled under her sheets and hugged her arm to her bare chest. Her arms were cold and it made her shiver slightly. But she just waited to warm up, and before she could notice, she had fallen asleep.

_**A/N: **__Now, I know you guys would really like the chapters to be longer, but the next 7 chapters are already written, so until then they're going to be short. But to make up for it I'll try uploading two chapters at a time. :)_

_Thanks for the reviews, favourites and follows on this story! I really appreciate feedback so please don't be a silent reader, it'll only take a few seconds of your time! :D_

_xoxo_


	12. An Unexpected Surprise

As soon as Jade woke up in the morning, she sent Tori her address and told her to come in as soon as she got there. Jade knew she would be home all day, so when Tori came inside, she would surely be there waiting for her.

Jade didn't bother putting on any clothes. Her mother had left the heater on overnight and the house was incredibly warm. She trudged down the stairs as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She was still so tired. Possibly from the fact she had done a lot of exercise the night before and her body just wasn't really ready for it.

She opened the cupboards to look for something to eat. There wasn't too much variety, but she managed to find a few Pop Tarts that she hadn't eaten yet. She pulled them out of their silver wrapping and put them in the toaster. She turned the toaster to the lowest setting and started toasting them. When the toaster popped to let her know they were ready, she pulled them out and put them on a plate, burning her fingers in the process.

She hated burning herself on food. She hated when food was too hot, because her mouth was just watering for food, but every time she would try to take a bite, she would hurt herself terribly. In the end she gave up on trying to touch the Pop Tarts and tried to find something to occupy herself in the meantime.

As she waited for the Pop Tarts to cool down, she switched on the radio.

"_I love rock and roll, so put another dime in the jukebox baby,_

_I love rock and roll, so come and take your time and dance with me~_"

"Oh god this song is amazing," she whispered to herself as I Love Rock N Roll by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts played loudly. She stood by the radio and sung along loudly. When the song had finished, and a song she didn't know had come on, she turned the volume down and turned around to get her Pop Tarts.

"HOLY SHIT!" Jade screamed as she saw a very shocked Tori.

Jade went to spin around quickly to hide herself, but she ended up falling straight on her face. Tori rushed to her side and pulled her up by her arms. She panicked and asked, "Oh my god, are you okay?"

Jade screamed and covered her chest quickly. Her arm stung terribly, and Tori hadn't even noticed what she had done until she got a glimpse of the blood smeared across Jade's arm. When she saw the cuts, she took a slow step backwards. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to touch you," Tori whispered.

"No… my arm just really hurts. And I'm just. Really fucking embarrassed. I don't even have clothes on. I didn't think you would be here so soon, that's all," Jade muttered, staring towards the ground.

Tori smiled softly. She was blushing a lot, but it was a little hard not to. She said to Jade, "It's okay you don't need to be embarrassed. Like I said, you're beautiful."

She was slightly speechless at the comment,"...Don't go thinking I do this all the time, because I generally wear more clothing," Jade said.

"You hurt yourself," Tori pointed out, "And there is really no point in denying it. I can tell you've hurt yourself. That doesn't happen in any kind of accident, and honestly it looks just like mine did a few weeks ago. Perhaps a bit worse. But I'm telling you now you shouldn't hurt yourself. I know I'm a real big hypocrite when it comes to self harm. But don't. You're beautiful, okay?"

"Stop telling me that," Jade huffed, walking back towards the stairs. She let her arms drop by her side and waved for Tori to follow, "My room is this way."

Tori sighed to herself. She might not have known Jade for very long, but she knew she liked her very much. Not only was she one of the most beautiful people she had ever met on the outside, but she was the most beautiful person she had met on the inside as well, and that was the most important thing.

_**A/N: **__I'm really sorry if I annoy you guys by updating the story so many chapters at a time but I really wanna get the pre-written chapters out of the way so I can start actually writing again . xD_

_But this is a story I really enjoy writing, and I've promised myself that this is going somewhere._

_Hope you're enjoying it. _

_Please don't be a silent reader! I really appreciate follows, favourites and reviews! :D_

_Also Joan Jett is the best. :3_

_xoxo_


	13. When in a Friendship Do as Friends Do

Jade didn't care about Tori seeing her chest anymore. After all, they were just breasts. Tori had them too. And she had seen them already anyway, so it didn't matter so much anymore. She still felt self-conscious about the scars she had, but she knew that her new friend wouldn't judge. She accepted Jade for who she really was. Meaning she accepted her problems too.

"Am I allowed to touch you?" Tori asked out of sheer curiosity.

"Hm?" Jade asked, not quite hearing the question properly.

"Are you okay with me touching you?" Tori asked again.

"Only if you're saying you're going to help me face my fears," Jade stated.

As Jade entered her room, she stopped at her drawers to get some clothes. She put on her bra right away though, to avoid the awkwardness they were currently feeling. She pulled on an off-white singlet that was a little too big for her, and looked through her drawers for the short shorts she loved so much. They were the only other pants she would wear other than her jeans, which were now unfortunately covered in blood from her injury.

She pulled out a black pair and slipped them over her legs. Once she'd done up the zipper and the buttons, she turned around to face Tori.

"I'm still embarrassed. And from now until the day I die, I probably always will be," Jade sighed, placing her hands on her hips, "So let's pretend this never happened."

"You left your Pop Tarts on the bench, you know," Tori stated.

"I know but… she can get more it doesn't matter. I'm not really hungry anyway. Well. Yeah," Jade said, running her hands through her messy black hair that seemed to have come out of the braid in her sleep. But in all seriousness, she asked a question, "What do friends do, anyway?"

"Well we could listen to some music. We could discover new bands and fan-girl over the band members. They're just things I do when I'm alone. What do you usually do?" Tori asked.

"I don't know. I usually… just sit here," she said bluntly.

Both of them thought hard for a long moment. Neither girls had had friends in a long time. They didn't know much about each other at all, and that made the situation doubly bad. Jade thought of all the things she used to do with Blake, which stung a little. But she didn't think that anything they did would be of any interest to Tori. As for Tori, she thought of things she used to do with her cousins. Though she hadn't seen her cousins in years, so all she could remember was pretending to be a three toed sloth whilst her cousins were monkeys and lions.

"I would offer to take you somewhere like ice-skating or something, but I don't have enough money for that sort of thing," Tori said, slightly disappointed in herself.

"Don't feel bad, I can't afford that kinda stuff either. I don't get paid. It's hard for me to find a job around here. I just give off the bad girl vibe I guess. But once we get to know each other more, we'll understand each other more. We'll know what to do. We just need to give it time."

"Do you like to write songs?" Tori asked.

"Yeah. I mean, I've never thought much of what I've written. But I do like to write. What about you?" Jade asked in return.

"Yeah, I like to write lyrics. I can't write tunes or melodies but I can write lyrics," Tori smiled, "I knew you liked music, so I brought my notebook in case you wanted to take a look."

Tori held a book out to Jade that had the words "lyrics" scrawled messily on the cover.

"Well I guess we've found what we're gonna do today," Jade smirked.

_**A/N: **__Your reviews, faves and follows are seriously making me so so happy guys! Thank you so much! _

_But please, don't be afraid to let your friends know about this story if they like Jori too, I mean what…? ^^"_

_Please don't be a silent reader, faves, follows and reviews mean so so so so much to me guys!_

_xoxo_


	14. Songbirds

Jade flipped through the pages of songs that Tori had written. She was surprised with the amount of talent the girl had. Even though Tori seemed like a sweet and gentle girl, the lyrics written in that book showed the anger and pain Tori was feeling at times. And it reminded Jade of herself and how she felt every single day when she woke up in the morning.

_My wounds, they open, the doors, they close,_

_Important words unspoken, untold to those._

_The monsters that lie and pretend to be close,_

_But I see behind what fools them most. _

The lyrics were unfinished, but there were several annotations saying that people were not trustworthy, as they were never what they seemed to be. But Jade slammed down the book onto her desk, pulled a pen from her drawer, and then started to scribe more words onto the page.

_The doors, they open, as my painful wounds close,_

_Important words, softly spoken, finally told to those._

_The people that try and live to be close,_

_The people who love me and care for me most. _

She didn't know whether writing something so positive in response was a good idea or not. But she smiled to herself as Tori took the book and pen from her. She scribbled out the first verse, and continued on from Jade's.

_But with open doors come more and more choices,_

_Always being influenced by the ever flowing voices._

_The people who loved and cared for you before,_

_Start to lose hope in you, and don't care anymore. _

Jade felt the last two lines sting her heart. Because she knew it applied to the both of them. Yet she took the pen and continued.

_Running away, and I'm hiding, I'm hiding,_

_Hiding from something inside,_

_Hiding from truth, yeah I'm hiding, I'm hiding,_

_Trying to prove it's a lie. _

"It's like putting an effort into something. Making yourself think positively. Opening those doors and closing those wounds. And you're noticing that there are people there who love and care for you," Tori said, breaking the silence.

"But when you open more doors, there will certainly be more paths, which means there are more choices to take. And there will always be people trying to guide you down different paths. And in the end as the stress gets to you, you don't know what to decide, and the people who once loved you, realize it's just easier to give up on you," Jade replied.

"The next part is the chorus. It's about hiding from the truth. The truth that things really aren't okay."

Jade quickly jotted down the original verse that was written by Tori.

"And now. Now you're proving it," Tori said.

"When I said we needed to get to know each other so we could understand each other better. I don't really believe in that anymore. I believe we understand each other just fine. Look. The song means something. People dig that. If only Beck were here and he could put a neat tune to it. You know, I could work on that some time. Once we've finished the lyrics," Jade smiled.

Tori blushed, "This is fun. Let's finish another verse or two, and then a bridge."

The girls continued writing, and they let their creative energy flow. They understood each other more than they realized, which made writing songs together so easy. Because they both knew what the other person was trying to get across in the message. They weren't just writing random words that sounded fancy, or words that rhymed. They were trying to make something that sounded good, but also had a message people could follow.

After a few hours, two and a half pages were filled with lyrics.

A song about false hope.

"This is great, this is great. We're good," Tori cheered, getting a little excited.

"We are! Do you know how to play any instruments or anything? We could make a band!" Jade said happily.

"I… I don't think being in a band is for me, Jade. I love music and all but I'm not confident enough. I just write, that's it…"

"Your words are great. You're a great songwriter," Jade smiled.

_**A/N: **__Had to stop myself from naming the chapter "__**A LITTLE SONGY SONG ACTION". **__ XDDD_

_Wow I wrote the song in this chapter so so long ago and right now I'm having a bit of mixed feelings but oh well. It has a tune and everything but I think it sucks so I pretend it doesn't, woops. XD_

_Please don't be a silent reader, faves, follows and reviews mean so so so so much to me guys!_

_xoxo_


	15. That Special Place

After messing around with the lyrics of the song they'd just written (and also trying to figure out what to name the song), Jade decided to suggest something to Tori.

"Tori, would you like to come with me somewhere? It's somewhere special… Beck and I used to go there all the time," Jade asked, smiling weakly. There was nothing she wanted more than to be able to go back to that place with someone she could call a friend. She wanted to be able to have fun there again instead of sitting there in misery, "I need you to help me liven up the place."

"Well of course. We still have plenty of time before the day is over. I'd be glad to go," Tori answered.

Jade got up and motioned for Tori to follow her. Jade felt a little sad as she walked down the stairs to see the cold Pop Tarts just sitting on the bench when they could have been in her stomach. She wasn't too fond of the Pop Tarts when they weren't warm and gooey, so she didn't even bother trying to eat them at room temperature. When she reached the front door, she glanced behind her to be sure that Tori had followed, and she saw Tori had kept up just fine.

"This place I'm going to take you is a secret. So whatever you do, you can't tell anybody about this place. You have to promise," Jade said, opening the front door to let Tori out.

Tori walked out and waiting for Jade to follow, quietly shutting the door behind her. Tori stood in front of Jade and spoke confidently, "I promise I will not tell a single soul about the place you're about to take me to."

"It's good to know I can trust you. Come on then, it's down this way."

led Tori down the street. It was obvious that the street was inhabited by people with a lot of money. All of the houses there were two or more stories and rather wide and long. They were houses that belonged to snobby assholes who didn't want anything to do with people less fortunate than themselves, unless it involved waving their money in front of their faces. Jade wasn't proud to live in such a neighbourhood. Though she barely looked and dressed like she belonged there.

At the end of the street, it was a t-intersection. They had the option to walk left or right down the one road. But Jade walked straight forward, towards the barricade of trees that were at the end of the road. They were very thick trees, and it was almost too dense to get through, but they managed to manoeuvre through to the other side. Tori's stomach churned at the site of the river that ran right in front of them. If they had taken a few more steps, they would have ended up in the water.

Tori ignored her bad feeling and followed Jade up the bank, towards a large rocky incline.

"Be careful up here. As you're climbing it's really easy to fall. And unless you wanna fall into the river and drown, then you really don't wanna fall," Jade said, pointing to the rocky hill.

Jade slowly started climbing, being sure that her footing was sturdy before she took another step.

Tori nervously started following. She didn't dare mention the intense fear she had of large bodies of water. She tried to make sure she stood in the exact places that Jade had stood, but it didn't quite work out the way she planned. Time seemed to stop still for a moment when Tori's foot slid on a loose rock. Her eyes were as wide as they could go, and her heart was not beating.

"No!" Jade screamed, grabbing onto the branch of a dead tree and snatching a firm grip on Tori's hand. Not for a second did she think about letting go of the girls hand. Her phobia didn't matter in that moment. Jade could feel the weight of the two of them tearing the little tree from the soil, "Tori! Quickly get your footing. Just stay close to me."

Tori clambered back to her feet, but savoured the moment of contact with Jade. She felt special, being the only person Jade had physical contact with. But she sighed as Jade let go and clenched her fist by her side. She wasn't angry for saving Tori, but she still didn't like the feel of human skin against her own.

"Look! Here it is…" Jade smiled widely.

Tori looked down at the little lake that was downhill of where she was standing. Below, along the bank, was an old dock with missing, and possibly rotten planks of wood. The trees had overgrown along the sides and the weeds below them had grown out of control. And with the animals surrounding that little lake, you could tell humans hadn't been there in a long time.

_**A/N: **__Just letting you all know, I know EXACTLY where this story is going. I know all the major plot details, and most importantly, how it ends. And I'm going to tease you all, my beloved readers. MWAHAHAHAHA. Besides. I know what this area has to do with the rest of the story. Mwahahahahaha. _

_It isn't irrelevant I assure you. :D_

_Please don't be a silent reader! Reviews, faves and follows are much appreciated! Thank you so much guys. uwu_

_xoxo_


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